Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Nets star James Harden plans to play in Game 5 vs. Bucks

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jun 15, 2021 1:52 PM ET

The Brooklyn Nets hope two out of three ain't bad for Tuesday's pivotal Game 5 versus the Milwaukee Bucks even if one of those two won't be fully fit by tipoff.

Less than 24 hours after reports surfaced the Nets would be without both Kyrie Irving and James Harden for Tuesday's contest with the second-round series tied 2-2, The Athletic's Shams Charania tweeted Harden intends to play as long as his strained hamstring makes it through pregame warmups.

Nets‘ James Harden plans to play tonight in Game 5 vs. Milwaukee barring a setback in pregame warmups, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. He’s been upgraded to questionable.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 15, 2021

Harden has been sidelined since he aggravated a previous hamstring issue in Game 1 against Milwaukee on June 5. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Friday the Nets were keeping the nature of that setback "under wraps," but both Harden and Irving were ruled out by Monday night until Harden was upgraded to doubtful and, later, to questionable.

Irving, meanwhile, suffered a sprained right ankle in the second quarter of Sunday's Game 4 that the Bucks won to even the series. He remains out for at least Game 5, meaning the duo of Harden and Kevin Durant will be tasked with putting the Nets back ahead in the series going into Thursday's Game 6 in Milwaukee.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

More must-reads: